That Smirk
by Obsessed.With.Emeralds
Summary: Eclare; Clare knows she has feelings for Eli, she's just scared of another relationship. Eli, on the other hand, is finding the situation quite amusing... Will they end up together? Eli and Clare fluff!
1. Irritating English Partners

**HI! This is my first Degrassi fic, so I'm pretty nervous. Haha. ;) This story is pretty much Eclare fluff, so there's your warning. :D I'll be following the show for a fews chapters, but I won't for most. The next two chapters or something will probably be the episodes, and then I'll move on to my own stuff. :) So, please, enjoy! And REVIEW! :D**

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It was a good day for a certain Mr. Elijah Goldsworthy that day. He turned in all of his work, aced his Calculus quiz, and he managed to be invisible to everyone so far today. But the only disappointing thing was that he hadn't managed to spot any _"good looking" _girls today. Oh well, there was always tomorrow. That, and college.

He was whistling as he walked over to his car. Eli drove a hearse, and he affectionately called him _Morty_. Morty - ah, yes. That was indeed an _excellent _name. Morty welcomed him lovingly as always as soon as Eli saw his car. He blasted _The Job _and backed out of the parking spot.

Out of the corner of his eye, Eli spotted two girls fighting over something in their hands. He shook his head disapprovingly. _Jeez, sophomore girls are so _crazy. Briefly, he saw something shiny fly out of their hands and into the street. He heard Morty's wheels crunch over it.

Eli hadn't planned getting out of his car to pick the poor thing up, but after seeing their fallen faces, he decided to. Grumbling silently to himself, he took his foot off the gas pedal and opened the car door. The Job's song, _Problem_, blasted out of his car. He smirked at the girls' shocked expressions.

As he leaned down to pick up whatever Morty ran over, he realized it was a pair of glasses. _Crap, _he thought to himself, _I hope that didn't damage Morty's wheels. _Eli examined the glasses for a moment, pondering at their crumpled frames.

He looked at the girls, and recognized that the glasses belonged to the redheaded girl. The other girl was Indian, and was standing off to the side a bit. She looked nervous and guilty, and Eli assumed that she probably started this whole mess.

"I think they're dead," Eli said blankly, without any emotion. He handed the glasses over to the redheaded girl. He waited there for a moment, waiting for her reaction.

"Um, it's okay," she said, rather shyly. "I don't need them anymore. I… I got laser… surgery." She smiled at him a bit, blushed, and then looked down a bit. After a moment, she looked back up, still blushing.

He stared into her eyes for a moment, his expression not changing. _Wow, she _does _have a nice pair of eyes_, he thought to himself. He decided that he should say something, instead of just standing there, staring at her like a creep.

"You have pretty eyes." His job was to flatter her by complimenting her, but pretending not to have any interest. He didn't have any interest, though. Or maybe he did. Did he? He let himself smirk a bit.

"Thanks," she said sweetly, blushing even harder. She shyly looked down at the sidewalk for a few more moments before meeting his eyes again. "I'll, uh, see you around?" She added the last part with a bit of hope in her voice.

"I guess you will," he replied, rather blankly again.

He left her with that to ponder over before getting back into Morty. He smiled to himself and drove off.

Now his day was complete; he _had _found a good girl to have fun with at this school. At least, for a while. That is, if she'll give him another chance. Most girls didn't. They turned their noses up at him and cringed away from the creepy Goth boy who was "obsessed" with death, dressed in all black, and drove a vintage hearse. Oh well.

But the look in that girl's eyes told him that he _may _have a chance with her. He just needed to flatter her some more somehow. How could he do that? Eli thought for a moment, and then smiled to himself. He knew he recognized her somewhere, and now he has just placed her. She was in his eleventh grade honors English class, although she was only a sophomore.

Now, Eli Goldsworthy had a plan.

**-X-**

He had _complimented _her! Clare Edwards squealed to herself in her bedroom. Plus, he had noticed her eyes, which were double points. She had thrown out her glasses after that scene in the nearby waste bin. Not that she needed them anymore anyway, but she didn't want to hide her pretty blue eyes from that boy.

She returned her attention to her laptop screen, attempting to write the essay she was currently working on. They were supposed to write a letter about what they would change in the world, and Clare was attempting to write about gun control. She was having great difficulty with it because she couldn't drown out her parents' voices.

They were fighting again, like they usually do nowadays. When Clare had tried to drown out their voices with music, it didn't work, so she just gave up. She just wished that her parents would get along soon, because if they didn't then she would have impaired hearing fairly soon. And Clare was pretty sure there wasn't a surgery that could fix damaged ears.

Sighing, she let her eyes wander over to her notebook on her desk, filled with all of her vampire stories. She shuddered as she thought of the time when she wrote about her vampire fantasy with her and Declan Coyne, posting it on the web, and then kissing him on the neck. But all was good now, because now they were good friends. It was still embarrassing to think about, though.

An hour later, Clare had finally typed up her English assignment. She admitted that it wasn't her best work, but she was too tired to write up anything better. She printed it off, and stuck it in her English notebook.

After having leftover spaghetti for dinner, Clare slowly made her way back up to her room. She flopped down on her bed and clenched her pillow. She silently prayed that her parents would work things out. If it got any worse, she would have to stay over Alli's house for a while. Alli.

Clare sighed again, thinking about what happened today. She completely got back at Jenna during Phys Ed for spreading that boob-job rumor, and then after that her glasses got run over. It was Alli's fault, really. She just _had _to make a big deal out of it and try to snag her glasses away from her. The glasses slipped from their hands and landed in the street, getting run over by a hearse.

She then sighed again, but with pleasure that time, thinking about that boy. Who _was _he? She vaguely remembered him from her English class, but that was it. She didn't know what his name was, and Ms. Dawes never called on him during class. Oh well, she would find out soon enough anyway. But why would Clare care about what his name is anyway? She's not going to _end up _with him or anything.

Clare did think it _was _incredibly sweet that he took the time out of his day to pick up her glasses. Even better, he even complimented her _eyes_. _"You have pretty eyes." _Oh how Clare's heart jumped at the sound of his voice. Jeez, she was basically falling in love with a guy she barely even knew.

She knew she would see him again, that was a given. She _did _share an English class with him, after all. But he was _completely _wrong for her in _so _many ways. He was a punk, a Goth kid who drove a hearse and wore all black. And she was a good little Christian girl who had a bright future and great grades. They were _total _opposites. If only she could stop _thinking _about him.

_Maybe I should make him a character in one of my stories_, Clare pondered, smiling at the thought. She felt instantly happy at the thought, and forgot all about her parents' fight. _Yes, I think I will. Tomorrow I will_.

She thought again of his gray skinny jeans, black t-shirt, black blazer, black boots, black jewelry, and his painted black nails. Oh, why did he have to dress in black? But the thing she kept thinking about was his eyes. His eyes were two perfect green emeralds, and she knew she could fall forever in them. His lopsided smirk was _wonderful_, incredibly dreamy. He was, oh, Clare dreaded to say it, _sexy_.

Clare fell asleep that night with very happy dreams.

**-X-**

Eli was sitting in his English, bored half to death, coloring his already-black nails with his black sharpie. Ms. Dawes was babbling about a bunch of English crap he didn't really care about, so he wasn't really paying attention.

That girl was sitting behind him. The girl who had her glasses run over by Morty. He could feel when her eyes were on him, and he smiled to himself sometimes. But right now, he didn't really care anymore. He just wanted to get out of this stupid class.

Ms. Dawes was passing back their assignments from last night. Basically, they had to write about what pissed them off the most and put it in a letter. Most of the class had turned theirs in during the morning, including Eli.

"Letters are one of the many great forms of art," Ms. Dawes droned on, oblivious that nobody was listening and everyone just wanted her to shut up and receive their grade. "Letters reveal the hearts and souls of world leaders, great artists, and now, of you."

Eli's paper was dropped on his desk with a thud. He smiled to himself; he'd gotten an _A_ on his paper. It wasn't that hard, really. He just wrote about stereotypes. It was easy enough to understand, seeing that most people thought he was Goth anyway.

The girl behind him complained to the teacher.

"Ms. Dawes," she whined, "There must be some sort of mistake; I've never gotten a _C_." She groaned, "How did this _happen_?"

"Well, Clare," the teacher said, (_Clare_! Eli thought, _that's her name_!), "your earlier assignments were divine, but lately, your writing has become…distant, impersonal."

"I used complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary," Clare countered, still fighting Ms. Dawes.

Eli rolled his eyes; talk about modest.

"Yes," Ms. Dawes said, "but your assignment didn't tell me anything about who you are; what you want." She sighed. "You can't hide behind vampire fiction forever."

Eli smirked and choked back a snicker; _vampire fiction_?

Clare blushed, embarrassed. "I'm _not _hiding," she said, trying to defend her. She could _not _believe Ms. Dawes just said that in front of the _entire _class. And how did she know about that anyway? _Did Ms. Dawes read it herself? _

"Then prove it," Ms. Dawes declared, "to your new writing partner." She pointed to Eli and started walking back up to the front of the classroom.

"_Me?_"Eli murmured disbelievingly. He raised his eyebrows and snorted. Why would she partner up him and her? Ugh, everyone was just _so _irritating nowadays.

"Yeah, _you_," Ms. Dawes said, turning around. "You write well, but you're a… little wordy." Eli rolled his eyes again. "You and Clare will be editing each other's work this semester." He shook his head.

"Great," Clare muttered, "that will be _fun_."

"We may have a _very _special partnership on our hands, people!" Ms. Dawes cooed excitingly to the class. "Like Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes!"

"Sylvia Plath killed herself," Clare countered, but Ms. Dawes wasn't paying attention. The class snickered, except for Eli.

The rest of the class period, which was only ten minutes, passed by very slowly. Eli had returned to coloring his nails and Clare was shooting dirty looks at Ms. Dawes as she continued to talk and talk and _talk_. Finally, the bell rang.

Eli and Clare reached the doorway at the same time, and became slightly stuck. Eli snorted, rolled his eyes, shook his head, smirked, got out first by nudging her away, and walked off. Clare looked after him, seething. She walked over to Alli, who was staring dreamily at Drew Torres, the school's star quarterback.

"He is just so… UGH!" Clare ranted to Alli, boiling up inside. "You know?"

"I get it, Clare," Alli snapped. "You're in love with Eli. But can we _please _talk about more important things, like how I can get Drew's attention?"

Clare shook her head disbelievingly at her best friend.

**-X-**

The next day in media class, Clare was frantically trying to finish her redo of her English assignment that Ms. Dawes had allowed her to do. She couldn't come up with anything, and she knew she couldn't do gun control again. What did she want to change in the world? She thought for a brief moment, and then decided on global warming. That was good enough, right?

Alli was trying to talk to her about guy advice, but Clare was paying attention. She _needed _to get this paper done. Aha! Finally, she typed the last sentence, and smiled at herself. She reviewed it, correcting the spelling and grammar. Okay, again, it wasn't her best work, but it was better than the gun control paper. It was definitely worth an _A-_, well Clare indeed hoped so.

The bell rang as soon as Clare had printed her paper. She stuck it in her notebook, said her goodbyes to Alli, and walked over to her English class. _Hopefully today will be better._ Then, with a shock, she remembered that Eli Goldsworthy was her English partner and she would have to let him review her work. _Great._

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**So... how did you like it? :D I'm sorry its so long! I just kept writing until I realized it was four pages long, and then I was like, "OH NO! I'm going to melt my readers' eyes! AH!" Haha, anyway, please review. :D**

**A/N: I may not be able to post the next chapter soon because I may become grounded. ;D So... yeah. Haha. Just a warning. X)**


	2. Coffee Stories

**You, my wonder reviewers, made my day. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D I'm so happy, I'm going to post another chapter right now. :D TWICE IN ONE DAY! WHOOT! Haha. 8D Now, I'm going to reply to your WONDERFUL reviews! :)**

**Princesakarlita411: **I'm glad you like it! :D Thank you so much for your review. And thanks! Haha, I couldn't really come up with a title, so I just put that. And when I signed up, I NEEDED a good username, and I KNEW anything with 'Eli Goldsworthy' in it would be taken. :( So I was like, "Wait, Eli has GORGEOUS EYES! And they're emerald color!" So, yup. Haha, I'm babbling again... Anyway, thank you so much for your review! :D

**Rockien: **Thanks. :) I wasn't really sure how to do his point of view... he's a pretty tricky character, because we don't know that much about him. So I just pretty much went with the flow while I wrote his character. And yeah, I know, I'm really sorry about that. D: I wasn't completely sure how to start this fic off, but I definitely plan on changing it up a bit! Thank you so much! :D I always used to think my writing was AWFUL! :D Thank you so much for your review! :)

**Aradiea: **Okay, I saw your username, and I was like, "Wait, that username sounds familar... WAIT! SHE WROTE 'KIDNAP MY HEART'! OMG! AH!" Haha, yup. Thank you so much for your review! By the way, I LOVE your fic! I mean, it is amazing! :D You are AWESOME! Thank you so much! :D And haha, thanks. :) I WAS getting worried that it was a bit too long... haha. :) Thanks. :) As I said before, Eli IS pretty tricky for me to write. :)

**ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D Please enjoy Chapter TWO! **

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Clare waited anxiously for Eli to finish reviewing her paper about global warming. She was sitting on top of the desk in front of Eli's, chewing her lip. Eli, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself while taking _forever _to read Clare's paper. He was munching on an apple.

Finally, Clare could wait no longer. "So, what do you think?" she asked quietly.

He took another bite of his apple and continued reading. Then, realizing he asked her a question, he looked up. "It's… um," he replied, looking back down at the paper. He seemed lost for words, and he bit on his lip slightly.

"Awkwardly constructed, filled with hyperbolae, and generally sloppy," Clare finished for him, sighing.

"The title's centered…?" Eli tried.

"Dawes is right!" Clare whined. "I have writer's block."

"So, don't hand it in," Eli suggested, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Then what?" she countered. "Tell her the dog ate my homework?" She rolled her eyes; she could _not _believe this Eli kid! He was just _so _aggravating.

"Or you could… take off," he offered, leaning in his seat a bit.

"You mean skip?" Clare asked in disbelief. She had never skipped a class before, and she never was.

"If you want to get _official_," Eli said. He leaned back into his chair and took another bite of his apple. He loved getting her all worked up.

Clare _actually _considered it. _Should I? _Clare asked herself, chewing on her lip. _Oh, why should I listen to Eli? He's a bad kid! _"It _would _give me time to write a _way _better assignment," she murmured.

Eli watched her intently while nibbling on his apple. Man, this girl could _not _make up her mind. The bell rang for class to start in a few moments, and Eli jumped to the punch. "Decision time," he said, his tone sounded like he was mocking her. She smiled slightly. "Stay or go?" He moved his hands up and down like a scale, still chewing on his apple.

He watched her as she bit her lip again, deeply thinking about it. He dropped his hands to the desk, and stopped chewing. He blinked up at her, waiting for her to make her decision. Finally, she smirked the tiniest bit.

Clare snapped the lid back on her container filled with vegetables, grabbed her paper from Eli's desk, and placed her books into her bag. She grabbed her back and started walking towards the doorway. Eli turned around, watching her with a furrowed brow.

She turned around as soon as she got to the doorway, and she said to Eli, "Well, are you coming?"

He pretended to think about it for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders. He shoved his apple in his mouth, grabbed his back, and joined Clare as she walked out of the classroom and outside. On their way out, they were smiling and giggling.

Clare Edwards could _not _believe she was doing this. She was skipping class, and with a boy she hardly knew and deeply loathed! This was _so _unlike her.

**-X-**

Ten minutes later, they were sitting on a bench not too far off from The Dot, sipping coffee. They were reviewing each other's papers again. Clare could _still _not believe she had gotten a _C_!

Almost immediately, Eli mocked her. "Wow, this is a first," he said, almost sarcastically. "Skipping school to do _work_." He glared at her accusingly.

Clare sighed, and set down her coffee and Eli's paper. "Hey," she said, "I don't understand how _you _got an _A_, and _I _got a _C_." Clare was flustered, and bewildered.

Eli snorted. "Simple," he said in a serious tone, "I'm dating Ms. Dawes." He smirked. Clare grew frustrated and threw him a helpless look. He chuckled at her, and then said, "You're a good writer, but anyone could have penned this piece; there's no point of view."

She was astounded. "I wrote about gun control!" she countered. "I say its good." She frowned at him. How could he be so… _annoying_?

"Wow," Eli gasped, "controversial." He smirked at his own cockiness and sarcasm. Man, sometimes he was just _too _good. He fiddled with his thumbs a bit.

"Okay," Clare snapped, "fine. _What _am I supposed to write about?" She folded her arms across her chest. Sense he's so smart, he should just give her the answer to all of her problems. She raised her eyebrows.

"Something that… pisses you off," he replied. He actually attempted to be of _some _help to this poor, helpless student.

"_Besides _my English partner?" she jeered. She smiled a bit to herself; this boy was definitely rubbing off on her.

"OUCH!" he said, pretending to be wounded. Then his voice turned sincere, and incredibly beautiful. "If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?"

His tone was serious, so Clare decided not to reply with a sarcastic comment. "My mom and dad," she whispered sadly. "They're not exactly… getting along."

"So… write about that," Eli suggested, again making it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I can't!" Clare screeched. "Its personal." How could he even _suggest _such a thing? Clare was astounded.

Eli snorted. "You care too much about what people think." He shook his head at her, and diverted his gaze from her. He smirked.

"_That_ is not true!" she whined. Jeez! This boy had _no _manners whatsoever.

* * *

"Then _prove it_," he sighed. He thought for a moment, and returned his gaze to her. "Scream," he said bluntly. "At the _top _of your lungs." He looked towards the sky to empathize _'top.' _She looked away from him blushing, and he raised his eyebrows.

Clare would _not _back down from a challenge. Huffing, she uncrossed her legs and sat up straight, looking way from Eli. "Ah…" she began, but it died off once people started to stare at her. Maybe she _did _care about what people thought of her.

Eli snorted again. "_That's _the best you can do?" He chuckled, and looked away from her, disappointed. She huffed again, and stood up. She brushed herself off, and turned around to look at Eli. He nudged his chin forward and rose his eyebrows, as if to say "_Go ahead" _and smirked.

Clare, feeling confident, faced the street and let out a full scream. She scared several people behind her, and some even laughed and pointed at her, but she didn't care. She screamed for about seven seconds before she stopped.

Satisfied with herself, she turned around and smirked. Eli looked at her with an odd expression, as if to say, _"Congrats_." She folded her arms across her chest and said, "Okay. Your turn."

Eli stared at her in disbelief. Him, seriously? He smirked, pretended to think about it for a moment, and shook his head. "Yeah… not my style," he declared, and stood up.

He pretended to walk away and Clare chased after him. "_What_?" she shrieked. "No, you have to do it!" "But, no, you see, its not my style." "You have to do it! You have to do it!" "Its just not my style!" "I had to!" Eli backed into a pole, and to stop Clare from running into him, grabbed her wrists. She looked up at him in surprise, her blue eyes wide. Eli was quite surprised himself. He felt his face heat up slightly, and felt the temperature around them heat up. He was smiling, but then he stopped.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, before he let go of his wrists. Clare stepped back awkwardly, and peered at him. He gave her a lopsided smirked, and looked down shyly. Clare gulped and sat down on the bench, while Eli continued to awkwardly stand there, leaning against the pole.

Clare wondered if she was the only one who felt the sparks fly between them. She felt her face go hot, and her heart was beating frantically. A few minutes later, she finally spoke up. Eli was still leaning against the pole.

"Um, we should probably head back to school now," she whispered. Her face was still red from blushing.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Eli said.

They grabbed their bags and walked back to Eli's car, Morty. Clare's heart was still racing, and she could barely stop herself from shaking. Did that really just happen? She felt as if she would melt when he held her wrists and stared into his deep green eyes. Both of them knew they probably would have kissed if Eli hadn't let go.

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**That was shorter, sorry. :) I had more written up, but then I lost it when I refreshed the page! D: I didn't feel like rewriting it, so... yeah. Haha. :) Next chapter will be different from the show, okay? :) Please review!**


	3. First Date, Part 1: The Plans

**Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! I love you guys! :D You make my day; simple as that. Anyway, I'm giving you PART ONE of CHAPTER THREE! Drum roll please! haha. I'm sleeping over my friend's house tomorrow, so I'll try to update on either Friday or Saturday. I don't have school on Friday or Monday, YAY! :D**

**So please, enjoy! :D**

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"I hate you, I really do."

It was obvious by the way that she said it, that Clare didn't really hate Eli. She stuck her tongue out at him and smiled, although she was nervous.

The pair was sitting in English class, and Clare was nibbling on her food nervously. She was afraid of the punishment her and Eli were going to receive today for skipping class. She'd never skipped class before, and never before had gotten _detention_. But Eli wasn't worried at all.

"Aw and why is that?" Eli teased. "Just because we skipped class doesn't mean they're going to _kill _us or something." He shrugged. "Besides, it _was _you who went in the first place." He smirked at her, causing her to become even more frustrated.

"_Eli!_" she whispered at him. "This isn't funny! I've never gotten _detention _before! What if it goes on my permanent record or something? Then I won't be able to get into a good college and I'll be forced to go to a crappy community college!" She was going crazy.

He merely shrugged again. "Well, its time you tried some new things, Clare," he said smartly, "for once." He winked at her. "Detention will be _healthy _for you. Soon, you'll be thanking yourself that you skipped."

"Ugh!" she moaned. "You're so annoying!"

Right then, the bell rang and class began. An elderly man strolled into the classroom, carrying a bunch of books and notes. _Thank God_, Eli said silently to himself. _A substitute. Clare would've _killed _me if we'd gotten detention. _

The class went by slowly. The guy could barely talk. He made Ms. Dawes look amazing, and she wasn't. Bored, Eli ripped a sheet of paper from his notebook, and starting scribbling some words on it. He passed the note to Clare behind him

_Eli: God… I think I may die of old age before this class ends!_

_Clare: Don't be so mean, Eli! He's trying the best that he can! How would you feel if you were an eighty year old man who has difficulty speaking, and has to teach young, hormonal teenagers the English language rules?_

_Eli: Jeez, Clare. I was just joking. You have __no__ sense of humor._

_Clare: OH GEE, thanks Eli! _

Eli replied back to her and passed the note back to her. She didn't answer. When he looked behind him, her eyes were focused on the board, listening attentively to the sub. Eli groaned at her, rolling his eyes as he turned back around. Sometimes, Clare was just so… _sensitive. _It became annoying after a while.

After class, Eli caught up to Clare. "Man," he said, shaking his head, "I can't believe we got lucky today! Maybe we even had that ancient sub yesterday too, so Ms. Dawes doesn't even know that we skipped!" He was smirking.

She shrugged her shoulders shyly. "Nah," she said quietly. "I think she knows. Watch; we'll get detention somehow, thanks to _you_." Clare pointed an accusing finger at Eli, and scowled. The scowl turned into a smile.

"Me?" he gasped sarcastically. "You're blaming _me _for _your _actions? You know, _I _should be blaming _you _for convincing me to skip class with you!" He pressed his lips together, and mockingly shook his head.

Clare rolled his eyes. "Hey, you gave me the idea!" she countered. "You _knew _I'd skip if you'd bring up the idea. And congratulations; I _did_! Jeez, that is _the _first time I've ever skipped class before, and I think I may be traumatized forever. I don't think I'll be skipping again any time soon, thank you very much, Mr. Goldsworthy." She made a 'humph' noise, and walked off.

Eli caught up with her again. "I think I may be able to change your mind," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. She laughed, and he managed to chuckle too, and then switched it to a smirk. He took her hand, and at first Clare was surprised, but she let it stay there, feeling comfortable.

When they started passing people in the hallway, Eli took his hand away and awkwardly brushed his bangs out of his face. He smiled a bit at Clare, and said to her while she was collecting things from her locker, "The Dot tomorrow, at three after school?" He looked pretty nervous. Eli Goldsworthy, losing his cool? That was unlikely.

Clare blushed, and bit her lip. "Um, sure," she said shyly. "I'll tell my mom not to pick me up after school." She smiled at him as she looked up at him.

"It's a date then," he stated, smirking. He took her hand and led her outside.

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**So, how'da like it? (Was that even a proper word? Hah!) Anyway, yeah, somewhat of a cliffhanger... but its 10pm and I'm tired, but I wanted to give you guys something to read and REVIEW ON! *hint hint* ;) So please, review! :D**


	4. First Date, Part 2: Just Like Family

**UPDATE, UPDATE! Haha. Omigosh, I cried at yesterday's (Thursday's, for those of you that's already on Saturday ;D) episode! It was so sad when Eli said, "Why should I get to be happy?" That broke my heart. But it was also my favorite line of THE WHOLE FREAKING EPISODE! AHH! I cannot WAIT for the Boiling Point lockdown next week! Its going to be SOOOOO intense! Did you see the previews? Eli and Clare were in a [dark] hallway, and it showed FITZ IN THE BACKGROUND, HOLDING A FREAKING KNIFE! AHHHHH! But I already know Eli doesn't die. XDDD **

**Anyway, thank you all for your BEAUTIFUL reviews! I love you guys. :D I bring you, Chapter 3... PART 2! Haha. :D ENJOY! :D Don't forget to review! :) **

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Eli tapped his pencil against his notebook and bit his lip. His brow was furrowed and his mind was hard at work, but not at the math homework he was supposed to be doing. He was thinking about his date with Clare tomorrow.

Of course, they were just going as friends, because they weren't dating. Eli was hoping that they would be assigned to some English assignment tomorrow, so they could work on that at the Dot so it wouldn't be as awkward. Hopefully, it wouldn't be awkward at all.

Why had he even asked Clare out anyway? The fact that she had even _accepted _his offer was puzzling. Deep within his mind, Eli knew he had feelings for Clare, but he wouldn't let them show. He'd had them ever since that moment at the Dot.

Eli still remembered her magenta blush and wide, surprised blue eyes staring up at him. It felt like he was on fire when they were that close, but it was a good kind of pain. It was a type of pain that urged him to kiss her, although he didn't. That would've been too soon; too awkward. Having your first kiss with someone, especially Clare, in public wasn't a very good way to go.

Vaguely, he remembered his very first kiss. It was with some girl, he didn't even remember her name now, at the school dance in seventh grade. He'd been really nervous before he had done it. He was even more nervous now than he was now. Would he scare Clare off tomorrow? Ever since he changed his style, people backed off from him; left him alone. He was surprised Clare was even giving him the time of day for someone like him. Clare Edwards was beautiful; she could have any guy she wanted. Even Eli Goldsworthy.

He yawned as he scribbled down an answer for his homework. He sleepily looked at the clock, which told him it was well past midnight. He should get some sleep; look fresh for Clare tomorrow. He didn't want to look any more like a zombie then he already did on his date with her.

Eli abandoned his homework and switched off the light. He stumbled towards his bed, and collapsed on it. He was passed out even before he could pull the blankets over himself.

**-X-**

Clare couldn't stop thinking about Eli while she got ready for school the next morning. She, Clare Edwards, had a date with _Eli Goldsworthy_. She mentally squealed to herself. She'd never been so excited for a date before in her life.

Her mood was ruined when she thought Eli had only asked her out so they could work on some English homework together. Her posture shrunk as she thought of her and Eli sitting at the Dot, talking about the rules of grammar instead of doing something more… _exciting_.

She ate breakfast and then brushed her teeth. Clare picked up her bag and strolled outside. This morning she had to ride her bike to school because both of her parents couldn't drive her; her dad was already at work, and her mom had left for her job early. Clare didn't mind that much having to ride her bike; it was good exercise and it was a nice day today.

Clare left her bike by the school's bike space, and walked over to Alli who was sitting at a picnic table, glued to her phone. She smiled, and Clare knew she was chatting with Drew. Drew Torres was Alli's new boyfriend, the school's star quarterback for the football team.

"Hi, Alli," she greeted as she sat down across from her. Alli smiled up from her phone, and stuck it in her purse. Clare grew happier.

"Hey, stranger!" Alli replied, brightly grinning. "How's the life of Clare Edwards? Rumor has it that you and Mr. Goldsworthy has been seen hanging out." She winked, and implied that Clare should tell her _everything_.

Clare nearly bounced with excitement. "Well," she began slowly, "we _did _skip English class together the other day." Alli jumped up from her seat, and squealed.

"Oh, my God," she gasped. "Tell me _everything_."

Clare immediately told her about her and Eli's little "scene" at the Dot, and what Eli made her do, and then concluding it with Eli asking her out to the Dot. Clare's heart nearly burst; finally, she got to tell someone.

"Okay, if you don't tell me _everything _that happens at the Dot today," Alli threatened, "you will _regret _it, okay? Okay!"

Clare teased her by sighing, but then smiled. "How's Drew?" she asked, wanting to curve the conversation away from her for the moment. "You two are Degrassi's new 'it' couple. I bet you lovethat, Alli." She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Of course!" Alli shrieked. "Every girl is _totally _jealous of me. Some have even walked up to me to congratulate me!" She giggled. "It's crazy." She sighed dreamily. "And, well, of course, Drew is just… _amazing_."

"Whoa," Clare joked, "look's like _someone_ is in love!" She giggled, and Alli smacked her playfully on the hand.

The two friends talked until the bell rang, and then ran off to their classes. Clare could barely pay attention in any of her classes. She was too busy thinking about Eli and their date today. She wished she could just tell everybody about it! She was so happy, even Eli noticed it as they walked to English class.

"Hello, happy," he mocked, smirking. "What happened? You realized that I am truly amazing and have decided to worship me until the end of time? I always knew you would." He was truly cocky. Eli nervously waited for her to reply.

"Of course, master," Clare replied back sarcastically. She pretended to bow down to him. "I am not worthy; I am not worthy." She smiled and shook her hand as they walked into the classroom. "Nah just excited about our 'date' today." She stopped, and turned to look at him. "And _how _do you plan on screwing it up this time? Ask the waiter to poison my food?"

His smirk grew wider. "Of course! How did you guess?" he gasped, bringing a hand up to his mouth and widening his eyes.

"I can read your mind," Clare said mysteriously. "You better go make yourself a tinfoil hat before I find out about any more of your _awful _plans." Her grin widened.

"Will do," he promised sarcastically.

They sat down, and class started. Eli could hardly pay attention with her sitting behind him. He couldn't wait for class to be over, so they could head over to the Dot. The thought of having Clare in Morty, _right next to him, _again made him shiver in pleasure.

Ms. Dawes had the class work in pairs, and Eli turned in his seat to face Clare. "So, do you have any food allergies I should be aware of?" he mocked. "Because if you do, I will _personally _order it." He smirked.

Clare mockingly gasped at him. "I thought you already knew! I thought you truly cared, Eli." She shook her head. "Looks like _somebody _hasn't been paying attention."

Eli snickered, and then the two worked on their project. The bell rang, and Eli was shaking with excitement. As him and Clare were about to walk out of the class, Ms. Dawes called them over to her desk.

_Damn it, _Eli silently cursed to himself as he turned around and started walking back over to her desk. Clare shot him a worried look, but then masked it over with a blank face. She gulped, and Ms. Dawes stared accusingly at them.

"Miss Edwards, Mr. Goldsworthy, nice to see you," she greeted them, watching them like a hawk. "You skipped class this week, without any type of note or excuse. Tell me now; do you have an excuse for skipping class? Let me guess, both of you had an extreme fever?"

Clare gulped again. "Uh…" Eli mumbled. "No." He played with his thumbs, needing to move somehow. Clare sighed; she _knew _they would have gotten caught eventually.

Ms. Dawes smiled, knowing she'd won. "Detention, for both of you. This Friday night. That is all." She continued to work on some papers, and the couple walked silently out of the classroom. As soon as they were out of earshot, Eli burst out laughing.

"Eli!" Clare screeched. "_What _is so funny?" There was nothing amusing about their situation. Her mom was going to _kill _her for getting detention.

"The look on your face," he teased, still chuckling. "It was priceless; you were so worried. It looked like you expected her to murder you or something. It was quite hilarious."

"That is not funny, Eli!" she scolded him, punching him on his arm. "Just because its funny to you, doesn't mean its funny to everyone!" She walked away from him.

"Clare!" he shouted after her, running up to her. He tugged on her arm and she turned around. "Do we still have our date today?" he pleaded. He didn't realize that Clare was kidding. He only did when she grinned at him.

"Of course, Eli," she said. He grinned, but became nervous again when she spoke again. "Only if you can catch me!"

_Catch her? _Eli was puzzled. He only realized what she meant when she started to run towards the doors. She was already outside when he reached her. He had underestimated her speed; he hadn't realized she could be so swift. He tackled her, and they landed in a patch of grass, with Eli on top of her.

Clare blushed, her face a wild red. It was almost like déjà vu from that day outside the Dot. Eli even blushed; a soft, almost transparent pink. "Uh…" Eli muttered awkwardly.

Clare didn't know what to say. Finally, she smiled. "You caught me," she whispered. Eli smiled faintly. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to kiss her _so badly_, but he couldn't. He rolled off of her, laughing. Clare began to giggle, too.

"Can you say déjà vu much?" he chuckled.

Clare nodded, and then said, "So, I think the Dot is waiting for us." She smiled, and Eli felt blissful. He felt _truly _happy, and this was coming from a person who hated colors and was "obsessed" with death.

"Yes, my lady," he mocked. He stood up, and thrust out a hand to help Clare up. She brushed herself off, and smiled brightly at Eli. She linked her arm through his, and together they walked towards Morty.

**-X-**

The Dot was fairly crowded that day, so Clare didn't worry about too many people seeing her with "that Goth kid," aka _Eli_. Not that she cared about what they thought, anyway; she just didn't want a million people knowing they went on a date.

They sat at the table by the window that overlooked the street. Eli's knee brushed Clare's every once in a while, and every time it did, Clare would shiver. She bit her lip and smiled, and took a peek at Eli. He was looking over the menu.

A few minutes later, Peter walked over to their table, ready to take their order. He smiled when he saw Clare. "Baby Edwards!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen you here in a while. Spinner and I have been missing your face."

Clare grinned, and returned the greeting. They had a small chat, with Eli sitting there awkwardly. Peter stopped talking when he saw Eli sitting there. "Who's this?" His tone turned overly-protective, like an older brother. Peter was basically an older brother to Clare, along with Spinner.

"Oh," Clare said, her voice faltering slightly. "Peter, this is Eli; Eli Goldsworthy. He's new at Degrassi this year. He's my English partner. Eli, this is Peter." She still kept the smile on her face. Her heart was beating frantically.

"Hi," Eli said softly, waving his hand slightly, in a casual way.

"Hello," he replied back. He turned back to Clare. "He's your English partner?" When he said that, it sounded more like _Uh huh, English partner, right; good story, Clare. I know you guys are dating. _

"Ew, Peter, gross!" Clare complained, reading his mind, and the look in his eyes. "We're _just _English partners; nothing else."

Eli's heart faltered a bit when she said _"we're just English partners." _Was that all he was to her, her English partner? He was also a bit scared of Peter; it was obvious that he was very protective of Clare's well being. Eli assumed that this guy, _Spinner_, was another "big brother." How many big brothers could she _have_?

Peter took their orders; Clare got a chocolate milkshake and a BLT, and Eli got Vanilla Coke, sweet potato fries, and a grilled cheese sandwich. Peter gave Eli one last glare before taking their orders to the cook.

"So…Clare," Eli began, "exactly _how _many big brothers do you have? Because right now, I'm pretty scared."

She laughed, and then shrugged. "Well," she said, "there's Peter, who you just met, Spinner, Declan, and…Sav. Yup, that's pretty much it." She said their names like she was naming off her stuffed animals; like it was no big deal.

His jaw dropped, but he quickly drew it back up. They talked for a while, and Clare pretty much laughed at all of his jokes. Sitting there, with her, at the Dot, made Eli realize that Clare _was _very pretty, and she had a pleasant laugh. He wondered if she felt the same way about him. Eli shook his head; _doubt it_, he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Clare stiffened, and her face froze. There was the sound of the bell, which meant the store door was being opened, or closed. Eli turned around; it was just another couple. Eli somewhat remembered them from Degrassi; the boy was on the football team, and the girl was a cheerleader.

"What?" He shrugged. "It's just some people from school. Unless you're embarrassed to be sitting here with me while they're here, this doesn't really make sense. Newsflash; there's a _bunch _of people from school here." He _loved _getting under Clare's skin.

She scowled at him. "No," she murmured, shaking her head. "It's not that. It's just… the exes, that's all." She shrugged, trying to pass it off as "no big deal."

Eli furrowed his eyebrows. "The exes?" he question. "What?"

Clare tore her eyes away from the couple, and focused on Eli again. "The guy, KC, is my ex-boyfriend, and the girl, Jenna, is my ex-best friend." Eli thought he saw a tear glisten in the rim of her eye.

Eli looked at KC, then Clare, and then back again. He was puzzled. "You don't look like the type of girl who goes after… jocks." He shivered at the word, like it was a horrid word.

"He wasn't always a jock," Clare whispered. "He was kind, and funny, and smart… Until that jerk broke my heart." She bit back tears.

"How is he still _alive_?" Eli said in awe. "I mean, you have, like, fifty big brothers to beat him up. I'm surprised he's not permanently damaged, or something. Well, besides in the head for breaking up with you."

Clare blushed. "Thanks," she whispered.

KC turned around to look at them, and his face was surprised when he saw Clare, and with a _boy_. Curious, he walked over to the pair.

"Hey, Clare," he said. Jenna followed him like a lost puppy, but her happy face dropped when she saw that KC was looking at Clare. Wasn't he over her already? After all, Jenna _was _ten times better than _Clare Edwards. _

"What do you want, KC?" she said coldly, her voice filled with acid. She folded her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow.

"I just wanted to say hi, Clare," he shot back. "You don't have to be so cruel." He pointed his chin at Eli. "Who's this?"

"Hey," Eli snapped, standing up. "Who I am is none of your business. Just walk away; clearly Clare doesn't want to talk to you." He winked at Clare. He glanced slightly at Jenna. "Plus, I don't think your little girlfriend doesn't want you to, either."

Grimacing, KC walked away, but not before shooting Eli dirty looks. The couple chose a table at the other side of the room.

"Thanks, Eli," Clare muttered gratefully. "I'm really sorry. He's just stupid enough to walk over here."

Eli shrugged. "That's what I'm here for, right?" He smirked. "I'll go get our food to go." Eli walked over to the counter, and told Peter that they wanted their orders to go. A few minutes later, their food appeared on the counter in paper bags.

"Okay, let's go," he said, walking back over to Clare with the bags. Smiling, Clare picked up her bag and followed Eli out the door. Taking Clare's head, Eli started to head towards the local park. Clare smiled up at him, and he returned the grin. It was going to be a very nice date.

* * *

**I hoped you liked it. :) IT WAS 5 1/2 PAGES LONG! Omigosh! I was seriously worried that I would melt your eyes. XD It was almost six pages! Well, I guess this means a part THREE of this chapter, ahaha. Sorry. :P Please review! I BEG YOU! Reviews feed my soul! That, and Eli! Haha. **


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